What do you reach for when you need an afternoon pick-me-up?
I always pack a Clif Z-Bar for the afternoon. The packaging says it's made for kids, but I'm pretty sure they meant kids and Lena. I'd seriously jump off a cliff if Clif stopped making them. Get it?

Do you doodle while on the phone or in meetings?
I don't doodle on the phone but I often find myself jazzing up the letters at the top of a meeting agenda. In a weird way, I think it keeps me focused.

What communications medium helps you the most during the day?
E-mail, e-mail, e-mail, did I mention e-mail? It also creates an organized paper trail for those times when I'm drawing a complete blank on something, which leads me to the next question...

How do you refocus if you're having trouble concentrating or getting the creativity flowing?
Knocking out a mindless task helps me refocus. So does refilling my water glass. Or telling Jamie a knock-knock joke. I've also figured out that some days just aren't meant for creativity, and that's OK. And then some days it's like, "Whoa, brain, where are these awesome headlines coming from?!"

What is the last thing you do before leaving the office each evening?
I don't have an end-of-day ritual, although I guess it should be "turn off my computer." I read somewhere that would save gobs of money and energy. It would probably also give my computer fan a rest.

This week, I cleaned off my desk, read all the mail I've gotten recently and started responding to all the query e-mails I've received from freelancers and publicists over the past six weeks. I'm not proud to say that these things don't happen on a regular basis, but that's the reality of my job.

It's so fast-paced sometimes around here that I can't seem to make time for the little things like this—and so when I do, it genuinely feels like a new beginning.

And I love new beginnings, so this is probably the way it's going to stay!